A Flame-colored Elegy
by Tales from the Lee
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for RWBY Volume 3, Chapter 12. A farewell to Beacon's brightest star.


**Warning: This fanfiction is written under the assumption that the reader has seen through the entirety of RWBY Volume 3. If you have not, please refrain from reading until such time.**

 **Author's Note: If you are unaware, I used to write for under the pseudonym TalesOfTheLee. I haven't touched that page for a couple years now, but I think this deserves writing while the emotion is still raw. For best results, I recommend listening to Taylor Davis violin cover of "Apotheosis" from the Journey soundtrack.**

* * *

Autumn was fading. The last trees had finally succumbed to the Valean winter, dropping their frail plumage to the soft snow below, and yet even without the frost, the gathered would likely still feel the bitterest of cold.

They all knew the risks. They'd all known the inevitable truth. Still, for the gathered crowd of Hunters and Hunters-in-training. It felt like the facade of peace had truly been shattered. They weren't just students anymore, nor teachers nurturing them. They were no longer children preparing to take the role of protectors. That time had well and truly passed.

For some, it was easier. The professors had seen similar events many times before, but none quite so tragic. In the darker past, they had always had the guidance of Ozpin, and the unshakable camaraderie of their brothers-in-arms.

The awful truth was that they had never expected something like this to happen. Not just the fact that Beacon itself would be attacked, but that Ozpin would disappear in the aftermath. Or that one of their students would be lost in the fighting.

It had been Glynda's idea. When Ozpin's duties were left unfilled, they fell to her, even as they had in his life. She was a stern headmistress, ever had she pushed the students to excel in the belief that the slightest hesitation could be fatal. Now, she could only find grief in her vindication.

She had gathered them all. The remnants of Beacon. Students and faculty alike, to come together one last time, and grieve for what they'd all lost. Beacon was lost to them, but it stood visible from miles apart, and from the view of Vale, they bid farewell to their home, and their fallen sister.

* * *

The news itself had been a shock to deliver. Not because it was beyond reason, but because it hit so very close to home, and against everyone's beliefs.

Through the tumult of emotions, the staff kept their composure, more for their student's sakes than anything else. They couldn't afford to break now, not when these young minds were looking to them for guidance. For answers. For anything. The over-active Oobleck stood oddly still, and the gregarious Port silent as the grave. Even they grieved, Hunters who had seen loss many times before.

These students were little more than children, and they were being forced to come to grips with a change the likes of which had never been expected to occur in their lives, and on top of that, one of their own had fallen.

Some, like Team RWBY, wept openly. This was a shock to their senses, and a loss that could never truly be filled again. They had lost a dear friend, and it was too much for the young leader to contain her grief. She wasn't born a stoic, and tears marred the youthful face of one of beacon's most promising students. With her was Nora Valkyrie, whose legendary exuberance was overshadowed by the immense gloom.

Beside them both, stood the heiress. Proud. Unyielding, and yet clearly scarred by battle and loss. Surrounded by such sorry, even her head bowed under the weight, and soft hiccups issued forth from her at the loss of a dear friend.

It was hard for Yang to avoid following suit. She retained her dignity, even in grief, but the sight of her little sister, and the somber mood they were all feeling couldn't contain the few tears she spilled. Her own wound ached alongside the phantom pains that came with her injuries, but for her, the physical wounds were less serious than the damage to her spirit. For Yang, this had been too much, and for the first time in her life, her fire had dimmed.

For some, they accepted grief with grit teeth, and the desire to go forward, and improve. Team CRDL, despite rivals to Pyrrha in the arena, still never could have wished such a fate upon her, and though they did not cry, they mourned the loss of an honorable rival, and a friend that could have been, if not for stubborn pride.

Others, mourned in their own way. Team CFVY's members mourned silently. Coco, the unshakable captain, stood head bowed, her customary beret removed from her head, crossing her heart in her hand. Silent tears drifted off her chin, leaving spots of dampness upon her usually impeccable attire. Yatsuhashi and Fox stood by their leader, following her lead., heads bowed in reverence to a fallen warrior. Though they did not cry, their eyes swam with unshed tears.

Team SSSN had remained behind in Vale, just for this event. They had never known Team JNPR to the degree their friends in Team RWBY had, nor could they proclaim to have a great familiarity with the fallen, but the boys knew their place was among their friends, even if only to share a grief they did not know. There they stood beside Team RWBY, as best dressed as they could be, and when Ruby cried, Sun rested an arm upon her shoulder, offering her the hug she'd need, when her sister was unable to deliver.

The remains of team JNPR mourned individually. For some, like Nora, the grief was expressed openly. It was too hard to contain an emotion of that nature. Such sorrow at the passing of a dear friend. For others, like Ren, it was silent. Tears fell, but he remained strong despite his grief for the benefit of his eldest friend, and his leader.

For Jaune, however, the loss was personal. This was not just the loss of a home, or a friend. He had lost his partner. His mentor, and had he not been so foolish, what could have been a lover, and that made the sting all the worse.

She had sacrificed herself to save him, in the end. She'd pushed him away to face a danger she had little hope to defeat. And in the end, he could blame nothing but himself for that. She'd protected him, because he was too weak to face the darkness himself. She had paid the price for his weakness, and he found himself lost without her guidance, and compassionate encouragement.

So while others cried, or stood resolute to honor their fallen comrade. He alone carried the memorial to their friend. The last pieces of a lost life, the shield of Pyrrha Nikos, the Untouchable. Beacon's champion, and beloved friend.

He placed the marker with what skill he could through eyes that swam with tears yet refused to cry. Akoúo̱ rested atop the carven stone marker bearing her emblem, engraved at Professor Goodwitch's instruction, reciting the beliefs of Mistral's oldest philosophers in a single sentence.

 **" _For it is in passing,  
That we gain immortality."_**

 ** _May the memory Beacon's brightest light never fade from our hearts._**

Soon, sobs subsided, and the gathered departed, amidst hugs, and promises to keep in touch. Pledges of loyalty. Friendship. And hope, all passed together among the gathered.

As they departed, the last to leave was Velvet Scarlatina, whose camera stood upon a stand, not capturing the essence of war from her friends, but reciting a memory into film, that should never be forgotten. Of the glory and splendor of Pyrrha Nikos, who protected them all, even until the end.


End file.
